An entry

Hi all! There is a contest up and going over at Teen Words of Steel. Entries are due at noon, so you still have some time to enter!

Here is mine. It's 269 words long and I ended up using both prompts, though I changed the tense of the phrase.



Its a beautiful, haunting scene that plays behind my eyelids. A breeze blows, setting the empty swings swaying. The merry go round creaks as it slowly turns. Laughter echoes from somewhere just outside of my view.
The sunshine fades quickly and darkness engulfs everything. I try to scream as I'm pulled back to wakefulness. The white walls and ceiling nearly blind me when I open my eyes, and the ever present smell of antiseptic makes my empty stomach lurch painfully. Voices murmur and I try to turn my head to see who is here.
I'm strapped down again. The voices are unfamiliar. How long was I unconscious this time?
She's awake."
"Finally. Get the vaccines. We have to try it before she goes under again."
I can hear many sets of shoes moving around me, but all I can see is the IV bag, dripping nutrients into my veins.
I'm nourished. Surrounded by people. But I feel empty, alone.
I feel a pinch in my arm as a person in full lab gear injects me with something clear. I try to speak, but my voice hasn't worked in a long time. I wish it did. I would tell them not to inject me anymore. Not to keep trying. I don't mind slipping away anymore. I'm tired. I'd like to sleep. Forever. It's been years. I know that. The family I had is gone. There is no one to go back to. Staying here like a lab rat is not living, even if my lungs keep breathing and my heart keeps pumping blood.
I don't want to be cured.